Paul Gregory (August 27, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American film, theatre and television producer.

Early life

Gregory was the son of a butcher and graduated from Lincoln High School in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, in 1938.

Career

Gregory went to Hollywood where he worked as a personal assistant for clients like

Horace Heidt Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...

and

Carmen Cavallaro Carmen Cavallaro (May 6, 1913 – October 12, 1989) was an American pianist. He established himself as one of the most accomplished and admired light music pianists of his generation. Music career Carmen Cavallaro was born in New York City, Un ...

. He became friends with actor

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...

and organized a successful lecture tour which Laughton made through the United States between 1949 and 1950. They earned $200,000 during this reading tour; the money worked as the basis for other projects. Gregory afterwards produced 17 Broadway plays during the 1950s and 1960s, among them ''

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, ''The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time ab ...

'', '' 3 for Tonight'', ''The Marriage Go-Around'' and ''Lord Pengo''. Gregory read the novel '' The Night of the Hunter'' by

Davis Grubb Davis Alexander Grubb (July 23, 1919 – July 24, 1980) was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for his 1953 novel '' The Night of the Hunter'', which was adapted as a film in 1955 by Charles Laughton. Biography Born in M ...

and bought the film rights of Grubb's book. He then produced the thriller '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955), directed by Laughton. While not a success in the 1950s, the film is today considered by many film critics as a masterpiece in whose making Gregory played an important role. His second and last movie as a producer was ''

The Naked and the Dead ''The Naked and the Dead'' is a novel written by Norman Mailer. Published by Rinehart & Company in 1948, when he was 25, it was his debut novel. It depicts the experiences of a platoon during World War II, based partially on Mailer's experiences ...

'' (1958). As a television producer, he won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1955 for ''Best Television Adaptation'' for his television adaption of ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial''. Gregory was also responsible for starting the acting career of his friend

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

. He gave Garner his first acting role in his production of ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial''.

Personal life

In 1964, Gregory married former film star

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...

. Afterwards, he gradually retired from show business and raised cows, hogs, and pigeons at the large ranch of his wife. Paul Gregory and Gaynor were involved in a very serious car accident in 1982; two years later Gaynor died as a result of her injuries in this accident. In 1998, Gregory married art gallerist Kathryn Obergfel, who died three years later. Gregory lived in his retirement in Desert Hot Springs, just north of Palm Springs, California. Gregory died in December 2015 at the age of 95 from a self-inflicted gunshot. A friend stated that Gregory "died the way he wanted" and that he was depressed about his failing physical health and that he had overlived most of his friends. His death was only reported in November 2016.

Filmography

As a producer * '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955) * ''

Front Row Center ''Front Row Center'' is an American variety show that aired on the DuMont Television Network Sundays at 7pm ET from March 25, 1949, to April 2, 1950. The show was originally 30 minutes then expanded to 60 minutes. This was one of several DuMont n ...

'' (1955; 1 episode) * ''

Ford Star Jubilee ''Ford Star Jubilee'' is an American anthology series that originally aired monthly on Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T. from the fall of 1955 to the fall of 1956 (With a summer hiatus). The series was approximately 90 minutes long, broa ...

'' (1955/1956; 2 episodes, also writer for one) * ''

'' (1958) As himself * ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' (1955) * '' This Is Your Life'' -

(1958) * ''

The Hollywood Greats ''Hollywood Greats'' is a BBC Television series, which originally ran from 1977 to 1985. The film critic Barry Norman wrote and narrated a series of in-depth profiles on major Hollywood film personalities, in which he interviewed surviving assoc ...

'' -

(1978) * '' Moving Pictures'' (1995) * ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

'' -

(2001)

References

External links

*
Interview with Paul Gregory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Paul 1920 births 2015 deaths American television producers American theatre managers and producers Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Drake University alumni Film producers from Iowa Suicides by firearm in California 20th-century American businesspeople 2015 suicides